


Fade Into You

by morningssofgold



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Psychological Trauma, Romance, Romantic Angst, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:34:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24596827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morningssofgold/pseuds/morningssofgold
Summary: Relationships really can be hard as hell but even then, Malcolm learns that Dani only makes his life easier.An established Brightwell relationship post 1x20 + first "I love you's"
Relationships: Malcolm Bright / Dani Powell
Comments: 8
Kudos: 64





	Fade Into You

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Million Reasons](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24391993) by [morningssofgold](https://archiveofourown.org/users/morningssofgold/pseuds/morningssofgold). 



> _I want to hold the hand inside you_   
>  _I want to take the breath that's true_   
>  _I look to you and I see nothing_   
>  _I look to you to see the truth_   
>  _Fade Into You // Mazzy Star_

Throwing her bag into the backseat of her car, Dani slid into the driver’s seat before pulling away from the precinct after yet another incredibly long day. Due to Gil still recovering from his injuries at the hands of Nicholas Endicott, the lion’s share of their caseload had gone to her.

As soon as he became lucid, Gil had asked her to lead their cases. JT was older than her but Dani had been a detective longer after being named to Narcotics fresh out of the Academy as her skills were elite and her instincts unparalleled.

Gil had always told her that he wouldn’t rest until she took the Sargent’s exam at some point in the future but now after getting a taste of what such a title would entail, she was in no rush _at all_.

“Hey,” Malcolm’s voice came through the car’s speakers courtesy of her Bluetooth. It was strange not leaving the precinct with her partner as she almost constantly took him home to his apartment in Tribeca.

He was dealing with _yet another_ family problem–this one far more serious than all the others, which for him was saying something. His sister had killed Endicott. She’d done it the same night Malcolm himself had been exonerated for murder as he’d been framed by that same man.

Dani had been in his mom’s drawing room, weathering the storm of her partner’s turbulent emotions as Malcolm began to unravel right in front of her eyes. She’d seen such things before but this time, she didn’t just sit back and watch it happen. The stakes were too high as Malcolm was fully intending to go along with his mother and sister’s plan to cover everything up.

She couldn’t let him do that. Dani couldn’t let him get trapped in the web of lies he’d long been living in. A web that would only continue to suffocate him. She’d stood toe to toe with him and in the midst of confessing what he was dealing with, Malcolm had confessed something else to her too.

Something that culminated with him _kissing_ her in the middle of the precinct the next morning. She didn’t know who saw but she was almost certain people were talking. Her team didn’t know as she would’ve heard if they did.

That said, they probably wouldn’t have much reason to ask her about Malcolm as he wasn’t with them currently. He’d been granted a leave of absence Dani knew he didn’t want as he’d love nothing more than to be distracted with murder from what he was currently dealing with.

As much as Malcolm hated being on the sidelines, his family came first and with his sister in the trouble she was in, the Whitly’s needed to present a unified front–though with a name about as infamous in the city as the Gotti’s–Dani wasn’t sure if that was helpful or hurtful, especially with the media storm that would almost certainly accompany the trial–should it come to that.

“I’m leaving work, you want me to come by?” Dani asked as she’d been spending each night since he’d confessed to her at his apartment with him. She’d promised him that she wouldn’t leave him alone and she hadn’t. She’d done so much to finally be granted his trust and she never wanted to give him reason to believe that she was like all the others–the last.

Dani didn’t want to give Malcolm any excuse to shut her out again. He'd always been someone familiar to her even before she _really_ got to know him–she didn’t like how it felt to look at him and see a stranger.

“No, I think I can handle it on my own tonight,” she could hear the wry smile in her partner’s voice.

“Are you sure? You know when left unsupervised bad things tend to happen,” she teased, despite there being an element of truth to her words. Dani knew what happened to Malcolm when left alone with the stress–the weight–of things he couldn’t control.

She remembered frantically banging on the door the night he caused a city-wide blackout. Fearing for the worst as he locked himself in the conference room, contemplating electroshocking himself into nothing.

Not leaving him alone wasn’t just for him–it was for her too.

“While that is true, I promise I’ll be okay.” Malcolm laughed, that sound warming her from the inside out. “I’ll make sure the door is locked.”

Even if the door was locked, he still tended to let bad things walk right on through, but that was an entirely different situation altogether.

“You’ve done too much for me already, you always have and I think you deserve to spend some time surrounded by _your_ things for a change.” Malcolm’s voice grew soft.

Though Malcolm knew how Dani felt about him and she knew how he felt about her, there were still things they hadn’t talked about. Things she felt like Malcolm hadn’t told her about why he wanted her distance in the first place.

“Okay, fine.” She passed up the exit to Lower Manhattan, headed towards her apartment in Riverdale.

“Tomorrow though, I can make you breakfast before work,” Malcolm offered and if she could see him, she’d bet she was scrunching his nose and tilting his head cutely. “I’m pretty sure I can do better than _Avocado toast_.”

Dani rolled her eyes at his teasing. Ever since that night at the manor, he’d been asking her questions she never would’ve thought he’d care about. What she liked to eat, the type of books she read, the movies she watched.

He eagerly listened to her, always with a boyish earnestness that reminded her of that night in his apartment when he’d told her that she could trust him. He’d been high at the time but his sincerity was unmistakable just like it was now.

“Well, that’s awfully sweet of you.”

“I can do sweet. I mean, I know I haven’t really–not for you but _I can_ ,” Malcolm responded in that way of his when he attempted to get all of his thoughts out at once before sighing heavily, sliding into the backseat of the town car waiting to take him home from his mother’s, where he’d been spending exactly all of his time lately.

He hadn’t been at his best or even close to it when he thought about his recent dealings with his partner. It had been hard when everything inside of him told him that whatever _his best_ was would never be good enough for a woman who deserved _the best_.

“You have,” Dani reminded him softly. “And speaking of sweet, I’m expecting the best vanilla scones I’ve ever had.”

“Done.” Malcolm smiled as he could most definitely do _that_ kind of sweet.

––––––––––––––

Dani spread out the CSU photos as she sat crosslegged on her bed, it wasn’t unusual for her to look over her cases to help wind down after she was in her pajamas and all but ready to turn in for the night but this time she was looking over the files, hoping to have some new insight by the time she went back into work tomorrow morning.

They had two victims, two apparent strangulations due to their apparent enlarged tongues and larynx as seen in the M.E. report but a strange lack of ligature markings.

Without Gil to tell them what to do and Malcolm to tell them what to look for and having to delegate, study evidence and investigate–her actual job–Dani felt a little like a hamster in a wheel right now.

“What are you working on?” Dani looked up, only to see Malcolm leaning against the doorframe, dressed casually in a plain long-sleeved black shirt and tailored charcoal trousers. A little half smile curving his lips.

“What are you doing here? _How_ did you get in here?” Malcolm had never been to her apartment before. His grin widened, turning devious as he had no intention of telling her.

Though she honestly shouldn’t have been all that surprised as her partner was very good–too good–at sneaking in and out of places. She couldn’t figure out how a man who lived in motion and generated only the most chaotic of kinetic energy could come and go completely undetected like a thief in the night.

“You know, I could arrest you for breaking and entering,” Dani knew her suspicious words were completely betrayed by the entirely goofy smile breaking over her face at the sight of him.

Malcolm looked thoughtful for a moment, “You arrested me once before…I wasn’t a fan.” She pushed the case files aside as he walked over to the bed. He reached for her, one arm at her shoulder, brushing over her hair and the other at her waist. She felt him melt into her, his weight pushing her back ever so slightly as her arms tightened around him in return.

Malcolm knew he was supposed to be giving Dani the night off from him and all he carried with him, but he couldn’t have imagined how good it felt to see her smile at him like _that_. The big dimpled one that made him feel like the only man in the world. 

He sighed as he squeezed Dani’s shoulder, thoroughly appreciating this relatively new feeling of her being in his arms. He wondered just how he’d been able to deny himself this for so long.

Malcolm had never known peace before but he would guess it felt a lot like _Dani._

He allowed his other hand to drift down to Dani's waist as he pulled back slowly, his gaze entirely on her lips–hers softer than anyone else's. Leaning in, completely unable to help himself, Malcolm kissed her deeply–wanting the air she breathed all for himself. Wanting to be infused with everything he’d never imagined he could have–not from her. 

Her taste of honey and citrus–of Earl Grey and her hands gently squeezing his biceps overwhelmed him. Those alien butterflies that fluttered in his chest at the sight of her overwhelmed him but Malcolm could think of nothing better.

They pulled back at the exact same moment, their ever present synergy palpable as their noses brushed together. The intimacy of the moment was something he was entirely unfamiliar with but would never get enough of.

Dani smiled softly as she rested her forehead against his.

“What happened to ‘I can handle it on my own tonight?’” she asked, a teasing lilt to her voice as she looked up at him through her lashes. That look and those stars making him realize that he was in fact _entirely gone_ and had been for far longer than he’d be willing to admit.

“Hmm…as it turns out, I’m not really into being on my own anymore.” Malcolm replied lightly, brushing her curls back, his thumb running along her cheekbone.

Though his words held no weight, he’d wondered if his lack of impulse control had done him in again. If he was making a mistake by popping up on Dani at nearly midnight for no reason other than missing her. Those fears as all of them had been about her were unwarranted. Dani _wanted_ him around.

“You’re _always_ welcome here. You know, if you ever need a place to hide out.”

“ _Really?_ ” Malcolm leaned back slightly, his hand stilling on her face. Her earnestness taking him by surprise.

Dani laughed a bit as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. Her fingertips ghosting over his skin.

“Of course,” she said softly. Her sweetness absolutely ruined him despite that something else–something that wasn’t the warmth she filled him with beginning to coil around his heart tendril-like and squeeze painfully.

He knew what it was. It was _guilt_.

“Not from the law though,” her lips quirking up in a grin. “But from everything else.”

“Thank you,” Malcolm said quietly and truly meaning it. Dani had always looked out for him but this felt like more because it was–and she wanted it to be.

––––––––––––––––––

“This case is stressing me out like everything else about work right now.” Dani said, spreading the photos out again, her back pressed against Malcolm’s stomach as he lounged across her bed, one of her accent pillows wedged underneath his head.

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown,” Malcolm smirked, his hand resting on her hip, running along the hem of her little navy paisley print satin pajama shorts.

Dani shot him a dry look, narrowing her eyes before turning back to the photos. “Unhelpful.”

Malcolm grinned, that excited light she’d seen appear in his pale eyes now made silver by the lamplight in the bedroom countless times when working cases. “Maybe this will be? You said there’s no ligature markings but there are,” He shifted a bit, now on his stomach to better see the photos. Dani did the same, mimicking his posture, the two of them shoulder to shoulder.

“Look closely…these markings _here_ and _here_.” Malcolm pointed to just underneath the victim’s chin and just below the Adam’s apple. “They’re faint but consistent with a silk scarf of some sort being tied around our–or your victim’s neck, likely folded once to avoid detection.”

“Okay, I’ve been staring at these photos for most of the day and got nothing but you give me a methodology and murder weapon in five minutes?” Dani shook her head unable to hide her smile as Malcolm rolled over onto his back, closing his eyes.

“I’m also gonna give you your killer or should I say your _killers_. You’re looking for a team, someone who both lures and kills the victims and someone who brings them to dump site. It takes a certain amount of finesse to kill someone like this and it takes a certain amount of strength to drag them to the woods where you found them. There’s a complete absence of regard here.” Dani nodded, drawing closer as his fingertips absently traced circles on her thigh.

“Of course, I could be completely wrong…I’ll have to take a look for myself…” Malcolm said suggestively, opening one eye. She could see the gears turning in his head. The Big Brain already at work.

“Leave of absence, remember?” Dani quirked a brow.

“But I’m dating the woman in charge…doesn’t that help me a little?” He whined, his brows furrowed, making him look 9 as opposed to 29.

“Nope, in _my_ unit we follow rules.” She smirked, leaning down kissing him lightly. “Want me to fix you something to eat?”

Malcolm dazedly blinked a few times. “…Did you cook?”

“No, but if you wanna eat, I can make you something.” Malcolm had broken down her case in less than ten minutes but seemed genuinely stumped about whether or not he wanted food.

“Why…would you do that?” her partner looked at her strangely, his confusion seeming to increase by the moment.

“ _Bright_ ,” Dani breathed in exasperation. “It’s almost midnight and you came all the way out here and I know you didn’t eat at home, ‘cause you don’t have any food at your house.”

Malcolm sat up, reaching for her delicate hands, trapping them in between his. “You would do that for me?”

He knew he was acting weird. Malcolm wasn’t particularly hungry–he never was–but he’d never really felt this _considered_ before. It was such a small thing, but he couldn’t imagine or remember anyone he’d ever been with really caring if he ate or not. _Dani_ did and that painful clenching–that guilt–seizing his heart, started up again.

“Would I make you a grilled cheese? Yeah…I would.” A secret smile pulled at the corners of her lips and a softness that only seemed to exist for him reached her dark eyes.

––––––––––––––––––

Malcolm stirred, feeling rather disoriented as he realized that he wasn’t at home in his apartment. A fact made entirely clear as his face was currently buried in coconut softness. Dani’s curls.

He slowly remembered making the trip out to Riverdale despite it being about a half an hour drive from his apartment in Tribeca and it also being after 11 o’clock. He’d wanted to give Dani space, only to end up invading it.

“You still owe me those scones.” Dani mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.

Malcolm laughed as he belatedly realized that at some point during the night, his hand had found its way underneath her pajama top, his palm flat against her taut stomach.

He hoped Dani didn’t find that weird and he didn’t want to behave awkwardly and make a show of pulling away. He was still very much getting used the fact that he could touch her in this way simply because he liked having her close.

His partner didn’t seem to mind as his fingers tapped against her absently. It had been hard convincing himself that Dani wouldn’t turn him away for admittedly being needy–something he’d honestly feared more than anything

Dani was so _formidable_ and despite being her partner, Malcolm couldn’t help but see himself as the stray she took in and babysat simply because it was asked of her. It had been hard to see himself as _enough_ for someone like her.

It was why he’d done everything he could to smother those growing, changing feelings for his partner. Feelings that told him she really saw him for who he was and like the steadiest flame–those feelings simply wouldn’t burn out–they only burned brighter. That fire burned him as it only lead to more frustration and insecurity before he couldn’t stand it any longer.

“You’ll get them, I promise. And there will be Matcha.”

Dani hummed as she reached over to her nightstand, silencing her alarm. “How can I say no to that?”

He watched Dani sit up as she checked her messages, frowning. Before he could ask her what was wrong, Malcolm realized that he wasn’t actually supposed to still be here. 

He honestly didn’t remember falling asleep, but it must have been her grilled cheese and her soft voice discussing murder that relaxed him enough to drift off.

“Why didn’t you make me leave?” his voice muffled by his hands scrubbing over his face, a familiar anxiety building.

“You came over here so late, I didn’t think you intended to leave.”

“It’s not that I wanted to. It’s just I could’ve hurt you…you know, without my restraints,” he admitted slowly.

“I have a lot less blades than you. Besides, if you pulled a knife on _me_ in your sleep, I’m pretty sure I could’ve disarmed and subdued you in about…30 seconds tops.” Dani tried to lighten the mood a bit, hoping to see her partner’s wry smile, but instead she saw nothing but shadows–nothing but storms.

“These past few days…the night terrors…they’ve been really bad, Dani.” Malcolm looked up at from his place beside her. The sad resignation in his crystalline eyes, tearing at her heart.

“I’ve been with you the past few days, I swear you didn’t move.” Ever since that night at his mom’s, she’d laid down beside him, only tiptoeing out of the door to head back home when she felt his breathing deepen enough to prove he was truly asleep. Whenever she kissed his hair before slipping out of the door, he never stirred. 

Malcolm took a deep breath. Ever since he told Dani how he felt about her, he’d vowed to continue being honest, no matter how hard. “They always come when you leave…”

Dani was already doing so much for him. After leaving the precinct, despite her workload being triple what it usually was, she didn’t go home. She went to him to see if he was okay. To see how he was dealing with the world happening to him _yet again_.

Malcolm could tell when Dani was tired as her eyelids always fluttered when she was near her breaking point but despite that, his partner stayed with him just so _he_ could rest and maybe get away from everything currently consuming him. But that wasn’t enough though because, here he was telling her that he required even more of her.

The embarrassment coursing through him made him think that maybe he was right all along. Dani hadn’t rejected him but perhaps she’d tire of him–leave him–and that would undoubtably be worse, especially now knowing what it felt like to be _with_ her.

Those thoughts of self-loathing pulled him so far away that Malcolm didn’t even notice when Dani’s hand reached out to cup his chin. Nothing but compassion colored those deep brown eyes that always made him feel safe despite all of the voices in his head telling him that he wasn’t.

“ _Baby_ , why didn’t you say anything?” She asked softly, imploring him. Malcolm’s cheeks heated beneath her hand at the endearment and those butterflies from last night chased away the dread filling his chest.

Malcolm glanced down bashfully, suddenly going from horribly embarrassed to impossibly flustered because that was exactly what Dani Powell did to him.

“You..I...uh...no one’s ever really called me that before,” Malcolm felt his blush deepen as Dani stroked his cheek, clearly amused.

A grin curved her lips, “I’m good with being the first.” Truthfully, Dani was the first of a lot of things for him. “But why didn’t you tell me?”

Malcolm looked down, focusing on her collarbone as he could no longer meet her eyes. “What was I supposed to tell you, Dani? That the second my mind realizes I’m alone again, it begins to attack me. Endicott resurrected from the dead, my father gouging out Eddie’s eyes, Ainsley’s blood soaked face and _me_ at the center of it all?”

“Well….yeah, if that’s what you’re going through. You can tell me. You’d think I’d want you to suffer?” Dani looked at him in that way that always made him feel as though she were looking _through_ him. “You should know me better than that.” 

Dani’s hand dropped from his face and he could see the disappointment flooding her dark eyes–he’d seen that look quite bit until recently. She turned her back to him, attempting to get about of bed. 

Malcolm’s arms wrapped around her from behind, preventing her from leaving. “ _Nooooo_ , Dani please. You know I hate it when you’re mad at me.” He was whining but he couldn’t help it as his cheek pressed to her back. 

“Then don’t make me mad, Bright. _You_ know I hate it when you shut me out,” Dani responded pointedly, sending his words back at him. 

“I know and I’m sorry.” Malcolm said, knowing that he had far more to be sorry about than just this morning. “Forgive me and call me ‘baby’ again.”

Malcolm felt the laugher shake her tiny frame and his body relaxed because of it. “I don’t do requests, Bright.”

––––––––––––––––––––

“The Calvary has arrived!” Malcolm proclaimed grandly, his arms wide as he approached the crime scene he wasn’t even supposed to be at, obviously dressed for work in a slate gray three piece suit and cognac colored wingtips, pristine as ever.

“Bro, what are you doing here?” JT eyed him suspiciously.

“What part of _leave of absence_ did you not get or are you just that hardheaded?” Dani asked, her brows meeting her hairline. Malcolm doing what he usually did without Gil there to cover for them was a disaster waiting to happen.

“Hard as a rock,” Malcolm smirked roguishly, biting his lip as he eyed her up.

He’d left Dani’s apartment before she’d gotten dressed for the day. His partner in a rich emerald green high-necked satin blouse, tight high waisted black pants and riding boots with her gun and badge at her hip. Her dark curls were slicked down and corralled into a thick braid that hung down her back, reminding him of nineties era Sade.

Dani crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes as the innuendo was abundantly clear. She wanted to smack him.

“Uh…” JT glanced between the two of them, suddenly looking very uncomfortable.

“Bright, you are supposed to be on leave,” Dani reiterated. Did she adore him, yes. Did he absolutely _try her_ , also yes.

“I’m supposed to be doing a lot of things, Dani, some of which get done, some of which do not.” Malcolm stepped closer to their victim, squatting down to get a closer look. “Ahh…same M.O., same dump site, same faint ligature markings as the last two…very interesting.”

“How’d you know that?” JT pursed his lips, his suspicion returning tenfold.

“Call it a hunch,” Malcolm replied breezily, shrugging one shoulder. “But didn’t you guys miss me?”

“ _I did!_ ” Edrisa replied eagerly from her spot on her hands and knees beside the body. “And might I say, Bright, you look particularly rested. Your eyes even look bluer, if that were possible…like the ocean at dawn.”

Malcolm smiled politely before unconsciously sneaking a sideways glance Dani’s way at the idea of looking “rested.” He supposed he always would if he could spend every night pressed up against _her_. Dani was _so_ warm and she smelled _so_ good, it would be impossible not to rest beside her. His partner didn’t notice him as she was predictably rolling her eyes at the medical examiner’s awkward and on-brand pass at him.

“Powell?” Dani fished her phone out of her back pocket, not even bothering to check who it was as almost everyone needed her for something or other these days.

“How’s everything going, boss?” she relaxed automatically at the sound of Gil’s voice, resting comfortably from his home in Brooklyn. “I heard you got a whale of a case.”

“It’s something but at least we know what we’re looking for and now JT and I can actually start following up on some of these leads.”

“You’re looking for your killer already?” Gil asked, sounding impressed.

“Yeah...but I had help,” Dani admitted.

“I’m sure you did,” Gil chuckled. “Just keep Bright in line and alive.”

Dani glanced over to where her partner squatted down next to Edrisa looking almost giddy with interest as she opened their victim’s mouth to show him the enlarged, discolored tongue–a sure sign that his preliminary profile had been right. “Easier said than done.”

“I know you can handle it…and him.” Gil’s voice warmed ever so slightly at that last part and he clicked off just before Dani could ask him what he meant by that.

––––––––––––––

Dani walked into the conference room only to find Malcolm at the whiteboard, writing down the necessary information that tied their latest victim to the other two, nodding to himself in satisfaction. 

“You good?” she asked, coming up behind him. Despite Malcolm in his usual form this morning, after him telling her that his nightmares have been worse than normal, she still wanted to make sure he was okay.

Malcolm turned at the sound of her voice, a quick smile breaking over his overly handsome features. “I’m at work doing what I do best, I’m _great_.”

“You’re not supposed to even be at work.” Dani reminded him with a smirk.

“Perhaps not, but I was right and a little praise would be nice,” Malcolm answered her smirk with one of his own.

“Hmm…yeah…I don’t think your ego needs anymore stroking.” Malcolm’s brows raised as his smirk stretched. She’d walked right into that one. “Bright, don’t make that joke.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Malcolm said innocently. “That would be low-hanging fruit, even for me.”

“I thought you _loved_ the low-hanging fruit,” Dani replied without thinking. The thing that had been on her mind lately, coming out with an ease she hadn’t expected. She couldn’t even say it was a joke because she knew she wasn’t smiling and in her heart of hearts, she knew she wasn’t joking.

––––––––––––––––––

Malcolm stared at Dani–his girlfriend–his partner– _the love of his life_. 

He knew exactly what Dani meant– _who_ she meant. That guilt Malcolm had been feeling with greater frequency the closer he got to her, churned in his stomach. 

The barb stung but Dani wasn’t wrong. Malcolm opened his mouth to say _something_ but he didn’t exactly know where to start.

Malcolm’s phone buzzed just as all of his mistakes were about to come spilling out of his mouth and into the open. _Law firm. Now._ His mother’s three word text letting him know right away that his sister’s case had likely taken a turn for the worst.

Dani watched as the world settled onto her partner’s shoulders in real time. They had things to discuss, things to work out, things to make right but that could wait, especially as she watched Malcolm stare at his phone, his hand trembling, swallowing heavily and his jaw clenching. It was his sister’s case. She didn’t know but she _knew._

She'd had been the “arresting officer” as Ainsley had volunteered to talk to her and her report had been given to the D.A. without any further contact with her as she was certain her relationship with the “Accused’s” brother was likely common knowledge. Truthfully, she didn’t care if it was, especially not now. 

Dani threw her arms around her partner, leaning into him–crushing herself to him. Malcolm’s arms wrapped around her in return just as they had last night, one arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist, holding her just as tight. 

“Hey...let me know if you need _anything_. Okay, baby?” No matter what, Dani _needed_ him to know that as with his night terrors, he didn’t have to deal with any of this alone. Malcolm nodded, his stubbled cheek pressed against hers.

“Bright’s graduated to ‘baby’ now?” JT’s bemused voice cut in, reminding them that things did exist beyond the two of them, even if it didn’t feel like it. She felt Malcolm stiffen but he didn’t let go and neither did she.

Malcolm turned at the same time she did, taking in JT’s look of mild surprise and Edrisa absolutely _gaping_ at them, a fresh M.E. report in hand.

“Uh…yeah…he has…” Dani said slowly, unwrapping an arm from her partner’s neck allowing her hand to graze his waist as she faced them fully. Malcolm synergistically did the same as the hand at her shoulder, drifted down to her arm. Their fingers brushing.

“So I guess the two of you talked about more than you being framed?” JT mused, calling back to that night in the conference room when their issues with each other were on display for everyone to see.

Edrisa still looked bewildered at Bright and Dani looking very much like the couple they obviously were. Her cheeks heating at witnessing such a private moment between her crush and the model pretty brunette they worked with.

“…Dani and I had a lot to talk about.” Malcolm replied, his hand at the small of Dani’s back.

“ _But didn’t your girlfriend just die?!_ ” Edrisa asked as it looked like the medical examiner was trying to connect dots that even Malcolm would admit couldn’t be connected.

Malcolm still had a lot of things left to say to Dani but what he wasn’t about to do was pour his heart out _about_ Dani in front of JT and Edrisa. “Yes…I was sad and tired…I had nothing left to give…”

“You found another life to live,” Dani deadpanned. Of course, Malcolm was quoting song lyrics right now. Though if she were being completely honest, she was pretty impressed he even knew that song.

“ _Exactly_ …and I would love to talk more, but I mustn’t keep my mother waiting,” Malcolm smirked as he gently tugged on Dani’s braid before vanishing into thin air, leaving behind a cloud of expensive French cologne and her to deal with the awkwardness _alone_.

Dani had witnessed many of Malcolm’s hasty and dramatic exits before but this was the worst of them all and now their attention was fixed exclusively on _her_. 

For as long as Gil needed her to be, Dani was their fearless leader. She fought assassins and went unquestioned with just one raise of her meticulously groomed brows but now her team had caught her with her partner the way she truly was the second she clocked out–entirely soft. _Wonderful_.

“Powell, what you and Bright do is your business but if I have to watch Bright eye you up every day like a dog at a meat market, I’m gonna be sick.” JT said dryly.

“ _What?!_ ” Edrisa cut in, her cheeks reddening once more.

Dani ignored them both as she left the conference room to take a call from the CSU lab, entirely grateful that something– _anything_ –else needed her attention. Sometimes it _really_ was good to be in charge.

––––––––––––––––––

Dani sat crosslegged on top of the conference room table, taking notes from Malcolm’s profile on the whiteboard in order to narrow down their suspect pool. Unlike the last two victims, fibers from what was likely a very expensive silk scarf was found in the victim’s mouth. 

She tapped her pen against her lip absently. Sitting here always helped her think and right now she _really_ needed to think as it was time to start getting some interviews. This would be the first case she solved as lead and she wanted to make Gil proud.

Hearing the door open, Dani looked up only to see Malcolm taking a seat on the file cabinet. He looked tired–so very _tired_.

Malcolm reached out catching the sleeve of her blouse after she’d scooted off the table, going over to him. “I love this color on you, by the way.”

“Thanks,” she smiled as his hand trailed down her arm, wrapping around it before squeezing her fingers. He smiled in return but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Anything you wanna talk about?”

“My sister’s case is going to trial,” Malcolm mumbled, his eyes still on their joined hands. “The plea deal was...unacceptable. I don’t know if the D.A. is under pressure from the Endicott estate or if he’s trying to make an example of her–you know, finally get a Whitly to truly pay for our _many_ crimes.”

Dani didn’t miss the bitterness seeping into his words and she wished she could do more. “I’m really sorry, Bright.”

Malcolm looked up, his eyes reminding her of only the choppiest waves at sea. “Why are you with me, Dani?” She blinked as that wasn’t the type of question she expected at the moment. “I mean, you could have absolutely _anyone_ you want–you’re beautiful–but...you chose _me._ You chose the damaged son of a serial killer whose demons never sleep, only multiply and that nightmare is one you’ve chosen to live in too....why is that?”

“I know there’s a certain answer you’re expecting but I can’t give you something even I don’t really understand. You make my life... _better_. To me, it’s not a nightmare,” Dani finished quietly, holding his gaze. 

She didn’t know why she felt the way she did. Why something deep inside of him called out to her but it did and despite what he thought, everything she did for him was because she wanted to.

“ _How can you say that?_ ” The words on the surface sounded like Malcolm was arguing with her, but seeing those storms in his eyes subside and shift into a trepid wonder, she knew what he was _really_ saying.

“I don’t know. Maybe just like you needed someone to really care for you, I needed someone to really care about. Maybe it’s that simple–that easy.”

“It’s not. It’s not gonna be easy trying to love me–no one ever has.” At that Malcolm allowed his gaze to drift to the delicate gold necklace Dani always wore. The admission shamed him not because it was true but because of how he behaved toward her weeks ago, _knowing_ it was true but lying to himself anyway.

Dani stepped closer, her soft smile absolutely melting him as she cupped his face, her blunt nails gently running along his jawline. “Not until now. Loving you has never been so easy, Bright.”

Malcolm thought back to the first night she’d brought him home, how she’d carefully helped him into his restraints. How she’d taken care of him when he couldn’t do it for himself. How she reassured him when he was panicking. How she calmed him when he was in crisis. How she stood by him when she didn’t have to. She did all of those things because _she loved him._

And what did he do with that love? The guilt overwhelmed him and he could hold it in no longer.

Malcolm stood up, grasping Dani’s thin shoulders. Her eyes widened at his suddenness. He needed to be honest–completely honest. He could no longer allow Dani to care for him–to love him–with the heaviness of his mistakes pushing down on him with every kiss and every embrace he didn’t deserve.

“Dani, I’m sorry. I’m _really_ sorry for everything. Everything I did, everything I said, everything I should’ve said but didn’t. When I told you that you’re the one I like talking to, I meant it and I wanted to do better for you but I didn’t think I could. No matter what I did, when I looked at you that day in the morgue, I knew I could never be worthy. I could never be the man you deserve. I got scared and I went back to her because I thought that meant that I was good enough for _someone_ , even if it wasn’t for you. She left but she came back and I thought that meant _I_ was worth coming back for.” 

Malcolm knew he was rambling but he couldn’t stop, he had to tell Dani the truth. She had to know just how weak, how insecure he really was even if he really didn’t want her to.

“It was stupid–it was _so_ stupid because she lied and I lied to myself and to you. I thought taking less would be better than trying for more. I thought I wouldn’t get hurt that way but I did and even that didn’t hurt as much as the thought of you rejecting me.” He’d barely taken a breath as his emotions leaked like a sieve. Malcolm wasn’t like this. He put on masks, one on top of the other until people only saw what he wanted them to, not who he was. The person even _he_ couldn’t stand but at least now Dani _knew_.

Dani nodded, trying to take a breath. She was clearly trying to digest all he’d just unceremoniously dropped on her. Just as she was about to open her mouth to respond, his phone buzzed.

“Christ,” he hurriedly fished it out of his pocket. It was another text from his mother, looking for him. He’d said he needed some air. Sitting in the posh law firm with his mother neurotically stressing and his sister showing no emotion at all, listening to various defense strategies–it was all too much. Instead of getting some air, he went to Dani. For him that was the same.

“Go,” Dani said quietly.

“But–" Malcolm didn’t want to leave her with his impromptu monologue hanging in the air like this.

“Go. They need you,” Dani repeated and Malcolm wished her face was as easy to read as everyone else’s. She hated when he profiled her but he honestly didn’t think he could. He could never guess what was behind those beautiful dark eyes of hers and maybe if he were better at it, he wouldn’t have made the mistakes he did.

Malcolm reluctantly agreed as his mother kept him texting him becoming more and more irate and calling him by his full name in all caps. He took another glance at Dani just before leaving. Her arms crossed and her head down. She appeared to be deep in thought and he wondered just what that meant for him.

–––––––––––––––––––––

Dani gently dried her face, finding some form of solace in her morning skincare routine as she’d gotten up too late for yoga and the 15 messages on her phone told her what type of day it was going to be at work. 

Of those 15 messages, none of them were from Malcolm. Not even his usual “good morning” text and even if she didn’t see him, she’d grown accustomed to at least hearing from him.

She’d stayed up a little longer waiting–hoping–he’d break into her apartment again so they could talk about all he’d shared with her. He’d done what she’d asked of him and been honest. More honest than she was expecting and at least now she understood.

When he told her that he’d do better, she thought he would. It _hurt_ to see him with someone else, acting like nothing she did–like she herself–didn’t matter to him. She wasn’t that type but she _did_ start looking at herself differently like maybe _she_ was flawed because he wasn’t consistent.

Though what he did still hurt, at least she now knew that he wouldn’t do it again. Malcolm wouldn’t switch up on her for the next girl who elbowed her way into his life with secrets, sweet lies and a sob story.

Getting ready to discard her pajamas and hop into the shower, Dani suddenly heard music blasting out from her speakers.

_Bright, of course._

She smiled as she threw on her short black kimono robe, padding out of the bathroom. She was immediately greeted by the incredibly cheerful sound of Janet Jackson’s _Escapade_ , a song she absolutely loved and the smell of vanilla scones.

Dani found Malcolm in the kitchen. In his tailored gray trousers and navy sweater with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms whisking Matcha, he looked more relaxed than she’d seen him recently. The sun’s rays filtering in from the living room window covered him bringing out the golden tones in his dark hair.

_Come on baby, let's get away_  
_Let's save our troubles for another day_  
_Come go with me, we’ve got it made_  
_Let me take you on an escapade_  


She danced her way over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and laughing as he scrunched his nose at her playfully, his eyes twinkling. “You didn’t come by last night.”

“I honestly didn’t think you wanted me to,” Malcolm admitted. He’d wanted to and it was all he'd thought about not knowing if Dani was unhappy with him or not.

“Bright, of course I want you to,” Dani looked at him, wanting him to understand her. “Even if you and I are at odds, even if you say something you don’t mean, that doesn’t mean I hate you or that I don’t want you around.”

Malcolm nodded slowly, realizing that was _exactly_ what he'd thought. When he apologized for hurting her feelings in the morgue, he was so nervous–so unsure of himself. Dani had accepted his apology but she hadn’t been overly moved by it and he knew he’d just blown any chance he had with her.

He didn’t know that he hadn’t blown it at all, but he’d still have to keep _trying_ –keep working at building what he wanted with her.

“You’ve shown me sides of yourself that I can _never_ deal with again.” Malcolm nodded again at Dani’s words because he knew exactly what sides she meant. “But you’ve also shown me sides I wanna keep with me. Sides that show me you care.”

Malcolm sighed as he cradled her face the same way she’d been doing to him since that night at his mother’s house. “Dani, I don’t just care. _I love you_ and if I were a normal guy in love with a woman as amazing as you, you would’ve known sooner because I would’ve shown you…you wanna dance?”

Dani heard the music change to another song, this one slow and stripped down as Malcolm had clearly found her playlist of old music.

She shook her head, unable to stop the smile that spread across her face and the chest-splitting adoration that went along with it. It was very _Malcolm_ to drop a love confession and then suddenly ask her to dance in a way not unlike that time in his apartment when he’d been high on club drugs.

“Bright, you asked me to dance,” Dani laughed as she wrapped an arm around his neck while Malcolm froze, before she took his hand bringing it to her hip. “We’re not at a cotillion.”

“Right, of course,” he laughed a bit, recovering as both of his hands came to rest at the small of her back. Resting his cheek against hers, his stubble tickling as he melted into her once more.

“This is a surprisingly romantic start to my morning,” Dani said, carding her fingers through the hair at his nape as they swayed to the music.

“Well, believe it or not. I can do romantic too.” Malcolm murmured, caressing her face with his.

“Is that so?” Dani smiled, kissing the spot just below his ear.

“It is and I’ve come to the realization that we are dating but I’ve yet to actually take you out on a date.” Malcolm leaned back slightly to look at her. “Prince Charming had a pumpkin carriage…Prince Hamlet, he has a _few_ things at his disposal.”

“You gonna wine and dine me, baby?” Dani tilted her head, teasing him with a grin.

Malcolm bit his lip, his ice clear eyes all mischief, “You have _no_ idea.”

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to @2amEuphoria for brainstorming a fic with me in which Malcolm gets a hug turns into this. Also many of the things mentioned here are things she and I have talked endlessly about. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. The other songs mentioned are "The Way Life Goes" by Lil Uzi Very and Oh Wonder and the song they dance to at the end is the same one as the title.


End file.
